Last-minute selling drags stock market down to 8,300

INVESTORS pocketed gains during last-minute trading on Monday, pulling the stock market down to the 8,300 level as they awaited the outcome of the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 103.46 points or 1.23 percent to close at 8,330.02. The wider All Shares lost 37.24 points or 0.76 percent to settle at 4,894.62.

“During early trading, the index was slightly up due to optimism on the first day of [the]Asean summit. However, investors cashed in gains as they waited for possible or actual outcomes that could strengthen Asean … [and]possibly boost economic growth,” IB Gimenez Securities research head Joylin Telagen said.

“This week, investors will continue to digest corporate earnings and focus on GDP (gross domestic product) report on Thursday. So I expect the index to trade sideways this week and GDP report will determine the market direction at the end of the week,” she added.

Juanis Barredo, chief technical analyst at COL Financial, said the market was “still correcting after being overstretched recently.”

“Sellers seemed to be holding out until the end to see if they can get a good average price for the day,” he added.
The industrials sector was the sole gainer on Monday, rising by 0.77 percent.